The annual Sunflower Festival in Mountainair brought out approximately 3,000 attendees last weekend.
Cathy Cook | El Defensor Chieftain photos

The streets of Mountainair were filled with visitors, the sound of live music, artwork and bright yellow sunflowers Saturday during the annual Mountainair Sunflower Festival.

Attendees dance to live music during the festival.

The event Is sponsored by the town itself and by the Manzano Mountain Art Council.

“The Sunflower is one of our biggest events, if not the biggest event of our town. We have many tourists come through,” said Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto.

The festival is unique compared to other town events, he said, because although many locals attend most of the attendees are from out of town, giving a big boost to local businesses.

Margo Gurule was decked out in a sunflower ball cap at the event, as she was selling hotdogs for one of the many food vendors.

“Alpine Alley, small restaurant here, Saturday was their best day ever recorded,” said Nieto.

There were 60 arts and crafts vendors and 11 food vendors officially with the festival, said Anne Ravenstone, a festival coordinator and past president of the Art Council. But roughly 50 other vendors also set up around town. Ravenstone estimated this year’s festival drew near three thousand guests and was two to three times bigger than last year.

“The Art Council and the town partner and the town really does a lot,” said Ravenstone. “It used to be just the Art Council, but for the last four or five years the town has partnered with us and I think that’s one of the reasons it’s been so successful and really grown.”

Margo Gurule came down from Los Lunas in a sunflower cap to sell Mighty Hotdogs. Sales were so good the hot dogs were sold out before the end of the festival.

Artistic creations like the sunflower wreaths and wall hangings made by Tamara Haas filled Mountainair.

Art vendors also came from near and far, like Tamara Haas who brought her handmade cards and wreaths all the way from Santa Fe. It was Haas’s first time at the festival and she wasn’t sure what to expect, but prepared sunflower bedecked wreaths all the same.

Visitors also got up to dance to live music from Heart Sleeve, Daniel Solis Band, Tracey Whitney and PowerDrive USA.

The Manzano Mountain Art Council will be hosting their next event on Sunday, Sept. 1, a performance by classical guitarist Omar Villanueva at Quarai Runis in the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.

PowerDriveUSA was the last musical group to perform.

Planning for next year’s Sunflower Festival will kick off in just a few weeks.

“I already have people who are contacting us saying ‘oh can I have my booth in the same place next year,’ so we’re already looking forward to it,” said Ravenstone.

Cathy Cook | El Defensor Chieftain Editor